There has been a long felt need for a simple, relatively inexpensive and accurate means for dispensing predetermined amounts of a flowable material such as liquid material which is maintained in direct relation with the container for the material itself.
Heretofore, several proposals have been made to provide a device which dispenses measured quantities of liquid some of which involve the bottle itself or the cap for the bottle. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 236,997, the neck of the bottle itself is formed into an exotically curved housing adapted to contain a predetermined amount of liquid upon tilting. However, such structure is quite costly requiring as it does, a bottle of very unusual shape and furthermore, the dispensing arrangement is far from satisfactory in connection with the care required to provide only the appropriate amount for ultimate dispensing. Other patents seeking solutions to the aforesaid problem are as follows:
T. B. Russell U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,446 PA1 W. J. Goodrich U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,143 PA1 S. Malis et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,808 PA1 J. C. Breneman U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,809 PA1 L. A. Godschalk, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,713 PA1 A. Smith, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 1,373,534
In each instance, the arrangement is either complex or does not provide means for preventing the return of the predetermined measured amount of liquid into the container or necessitates costly and expensive baffle arrangements or the like.
One such proposed construction, i.e. that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,446, has means which not only make it difficult to maintain the predetermined amount of liquid without returning into the bottle section, but also a portion of the neck of the bottle is required to be removed to dispense the predetermined amount of liquid with the consequent possibilities of loss of liquid, misplacement of the stop and untidy spillage.
Thus, the aforesaid problem has not been satisfactorily solved.